8 VILLANOVA

Table of Contents

Nov. 10, 2014

Madison Bumgarner came as close to winning the World Series single-handedly as anyone could. But the bedrock of the San Francisco championships is a manager--front office relationship that's as stable as it is sublime

TODAY'S DEFENSES—HELLO, 7--1 CARDINALS!—APPLY PRESSURE BY THREATENING THE VITAL LANES BETWEEN THE CENTER AND THE GUARDS. AND ONCE A TEAM HAS SLOTTED A PAIR OF BLITZERS IN THOSE &quot;A&quot; GAPS? THAT'S WHEN THE FUN BEGINS

It's that time of year when clocks get reset, holiday songs get airtime and UConn gets the preseason No. 1 ranking. But to win their fifth title in seven seasons, the Huskies will have to overcome a quartet of worthy challengers

Movember, the annual mustache-growing fund- and awareness-raiser for men's health issues, is upon us. In celebration, here are a few of the more notorious 'staches in sports broken down into their primary elements

There are plenty of ways to use an agile, savvy big man like junior Daniel Ochefu. He can be the defensive anchor in the Big East's smallest lineup, blocking 7.7% of opponents' two-point attempts (fourth best in the conference). And because of his quickness, he can also defend the perimeter, enabling the Wildcats to trap and switch. On offense, too, he can venture away from the basket for pick-and-pops and dribble-handoffs. "Just because he's 6'11"," says coach Jay Wright, "we don't want to lock him on the block."

Still, while Ochefu is down there, he might as well be effective. Too often last season defenders were free to swarm 6'7" JayVaughn Pinkston in the post and play Ochefu loosely, knowing he'd rather pass. So Ochefu spent his summer backing down assistant Baker Dunleavy, working to increase his offensive repertoire (and his average of 5.7 points). "Now I can look to score first and use my passing as a second option," says Ochefu.

That will create more opportunities for Pinkston, as well as space the floor for the Wildcats' trey-happy offense. Which is not to say that Ochefu can't still provide hands-on help from the high post. "We used [that] a lot last year," says Wright, "and we're going to use it more this year." Big East bigs, stay on your toes.

Percentage of Villanova's field goal attempts that were three-pointers last season, the seventh most nationally. Shots from beyond the arc accounted for 34.4% of the Wildcats' offense, according to kenpom.com.

Before he became the premier postseason performer of his generation, the Patriots icon was a middling college quarterback who invited skepticism, even scorn, from fans and his coaches. That was all—and that was everything